Reply to: Heathrow - a world class airport?

[MarillionFan]

Went through Terminal 5 today for the first time. Total disgrace.

I was given an hour to get from my plane from the States to my plane to Glasgow and in any other airport that would not be an issue, 2 hours to get through the 'system'. Shambles.

Two hours. As a foreigner in England I would have expected you to have taken 5 hours and been stripped searched.

Standards are falling.

[minestrone]

IN the last couple of years I have been through the airports of Singapore, Bangkok, CDG, Schiphol, O'Hare, JFK, Ho Chi Minh and many others.

Went through Terminal 5 today for the first time. Total disgrace. An hour to get from landing to getting off the plane. They could not fuel the planes leaving so we got stuck waiting to get a space, then the boom failed, then the first set of ladders failed, we had to get bussed from the plane to the terminal.

I was given an hour to get from my plane from the States to my plane to Glasgow and in any other airport that would not be an issue, 2 hours to get through the 'system'. Shambles.

[SueEllen]

Call them what you like, but fact is they did not bother to turn up for work of their own accord or they were told not to bother by employers.

Shop workers are low paid and if you aren't management you don't get paid if you don't turn up, therefore they have an incentive to turn up to work.

This was just typical of everything at Heathrow, lack of care to the customer by everyone involved. You will find at any shopping mall in the UK it is in the contract that opening times must be maintained by all otherwise you are out - Heathrow should be the same when the flights are on.

Odd the shopping malls I visit have a few shops shut completely on a Sunday when it's open, and some also open up to an hour later than when the mall opens. ( I know because my optician's is one of them.)

I view using Heathrow as unpleasant experience so try and use another airport if possible.

[TimberWolf]

Airports are cheap places to spend the night as long as you don't buy anything. Heathrow is a bit busy at the moment though.

[lilelvis2000]

I think of an modern airport as a shopping mall with an airstrip and ludicrously priced parking attached.

[configman]

The "traders" as you call them are high street chains. Their staff are paid little more than minimum wage so they have no incentive to stay open.

Now if the store was independent and run by a British Indian from an ex-British Colony it would be open.

People who own businesses act differently from mere staff.

Call them what you like, but fact is they did not bother to turn up for work of their own accord or they were told not to bother by employers. This was just typical of everything at Heathrow, lack of care to the customer by everyone involved. You will find at any shopping mall in the UK it is in the contract that opening times must be maintained by all otherwise you are out - Heathrow should be the same when the flights are on.

[Ignis Fatuus]

The "traders" as you call them are high street chains. Their staff are paid little more than minimum wage so they have no incentive to stay open.

Now if the store was independent and run by a British Indian from an ex-British Colony it would be open.

People who own businesses act differently from mere staff.

In Geneva, in the little satellite terminal that UK flights use, the cafe/bar has posted hours: 07:00 until last flight leaves. They (probably the airport) just decided that that's what was needed, and arranged it so.

The problem is not that the Heathrow shops are high street chains, it is that they have decided how they want to run for their convenience, and nobody has told them otherwise. BAA could have imposed such a rule as a condition for getting a franchise, but passenger needs are not BAA's concern. The government could have imposed such a consideration on the airport operator, but has apparently decided that business works best if you get out of its way. This is true if you define "works best" as making profits for shareholders, and nothing else. It is not true if you also include in the definition of "works" the requiement to serve users' needs appropriately.

In general, I blame BAA and the government. The government for not properly regulating how an airport is run, and BAA for running it for their shareholders, and for their customers; and for seeing their customers as airlines and shops, not passengers - passengers are not customers, they are just revenue streams.

It is a classic case where private enterprise can achieve the best results, but only if it is gently guided to a consensus view of what would be the best results.

[darmstadt]

BBC News - Insurance companies 'charging more for winter tyres'

That is unbelievable, over here if you don't have winter tyres then you're at fault. Obviously UK insurance companies are utter pants along with the UK transport minister who said that winter tyres would damage the road surface. Naturally he has not got a clue as he thinks that winter tyres have studs, dickhead. You will also notice that German roads don't have catseyes, you know why? This is because the snowploughs would rip them up.

[SueEllen]

I got into the departures lounge to be welcomed by darkness - nearly all the traders had gone home despite several thousand people still scheduled to fly - and hundreds still trapped. Taking the airports advice of getting to the airport early and allowing for the snow this left me with 3 hours without any refreshment. Only one Starbucks was open in all terminal 5 and they wanted to charge me £4.55 for a coffee so I went without.

The "traders" as you call them are high street chains. Their staff are paid little more than minimum wage so they have no incentive to stay open.

Now if the store was independent and run by a British Indian from an ex-British Colony it would be open.

People who own businesses act differently from mere staff.

[configman]

I actually flew out of Heathrow on Sunday evening, long haul to Hong Kong. Yes I'm lucky my flight actually left albeit 2 hours late but I witnessed total incompetence and laziness by both BA and BAA staff. I wasn't really sure if my flight was taking off or not - one BA web page listed flights that would take off and mine wasn't on it, and another BA Web page said my flight was still scheduled.

I got into the departures lounge to be welcomed by darkness - nearly all the traders had gone home despite several thousand people still scheduled to fly - and hundreds still trapped. Taking the airports advice of getting to the airport early and allowing for the snow this left me with 3 hours without any refreshment. Only one Starbucks was open in all terminal 5 and they wanted to charge me £4.55 for a coffee so I went without.

There were more BA and BAA ground staff in departures than passengers, they were not clearing snow but using passenger facilities to skive. If it was just a break that would be OK but they were still there when I boarded 3 hours later. I'm not talking just a few workers but several groups of ten + dotted around. Looking out the windows you could see no action whatsoever - there was no-one outside clearing snow. It looked as if only a token effort had been made in clearing just 4 inches of snow.

There were lots of snow coverred planes everywhere. What was 4 inches of snow on the wings had now become 4 inches of ice because it had been left for 1 1/2 days. Logic says that whilst it is still powder it could have been swept/blown off making the job much easier later.

We boarded the plane on time but then remained at the stand for 2 1/2 hours. The de-icing team arrived when we should have taken off, they came with their fancy new de-icing trucks and equipment. There were four de-icing trucks + operatives around the plane who just sat there for a further hour before starting to de-ice. They occasionally burst into life when someone in different coloured overalls (boss?) appeared. When they got to work 5 men and one broom began work on engine 1. 4 stood there and provided instructions on using the broom to the first. This was predicted snow - why weren't the engines covered to stop snow getting in? All engines were cleared now for the wings - you would think that there being four de-icing machines they could use them at the same time on both wings but only one wing at a time was being cleared by just 2 trucks. This was where it became really inefficient - the 4 inches of ice were blasted off with massive massive amounts of water and de-icer from something with a nozel no bigger than a garden hosepipe. It took an hour to blast the ice off both wings. Had the snow been brushed off first it would have been much easier, and less water/de-icer needed - and probably no delay. There were huge puddles of de-icer on the tarmac.

So much de-icer had been used that when we landed at Hong Kong the authorites there would not let us get off the plane - because after 6,000 miles the de-icer was still dripping off the plane making it to slippery to walk and it was causing problems to the ground crew who were having de-icer drop on them. The de-icer had to be cleaned away first.

Edited to include - Lets not forget BA and other airlines added a premium to Christmas flights - normal return flights to Hong Kong are approximately 600 to £700 but this time of year are 2,3,4 times as much depending which day you fly. Those who should have flown on the Saturday will have paid one of the highest prices.

[Cliphead]

From the highest flagpole for not using his weather controlling abilities.

Wish I'd seen that

What part of the message 'don't travel unless it's absolutely essential' did most of the arseholes on the roads here fail to understand?

If you're going to drive in snow at least learn how to do it, oh, and by the way a 4x4 isn't a get out of jail free card. If you're a crap driver in normal conditions you'll still be a crap driver in snow.

[scooterscot]

We hanged the transport minister for Scotland?

From the highest flagpole for not using his weather controlling abilities.

[Cliphead]

Is this were in Scotland the transport minister would have been hanged as well as sacked.

You lot are too soft on your MP's.

We hanged the transport minister for Scotland?

[scooterscot]

Is this were in Scotland the transport minister would have been hanged as well as sacked.

You lot are too soft on your MP's.

[AtW]

When runways are closed you can deice all you want until you run out of fluids..